Hello All!
June 12, 2025
The Canyonlands gang has been off to a hot start these last few days. To start off, we left the airport on Sunday and high tailed it down to the Bryce Canyon area to set up camp for our first night together. On the way down, we stopped for pizza at a surprisingly good restaurant that stayed open 10 minutes late just to await our arrival! Eating outside the closed pizza shack, we all bonded over cheese and pepperoni slices and watched the sun set over the scenic Sevier River. The group was lucky enough to listen to the lively guitar playing of Jasper, where he even taught Spencer how to play Sweet Home Alabama on the acoustic. We heard some of his original songs and announced our first leaders of the day, Carter and KK!
To begin day two, Yardley showed off her cooking skills (which have since come in handy) while Henry assembled some of the best breakfast sandwiches we’ve had. To follow that up, everyone drove over to Bryce Canyon National Park to see the iconic Hoodoo rock formations from Inspiration point and down through the Navajo loop to Wall Street trails. KK and Carter did an exemplary job leading us through the labyrinth of Sandstone, and we spent the afternoon hanging around base camp playing hackiesack, spikeball, and football. Henry dominated the spikeball net, Elias showed us some of his impressive soccer skills, while Joe and Reed scored touchdown after touchdown in our pickup football game. We ended the night with a memorable Moonup next to the lake (with a much needed hackiesack session) where Spencer even caught a fish in the middle of his and Jaspers rendition of Jersey Giant.
The fly fishing didn’t stop there, though, as we all headed to the lake to meet our fly fishing guides after some pancakes and bacon to start the next morning. Natalie headlined the fishing boards, catching an impressive three fish on the fly! Carter, Elias, and Reed also had some catches to boast about, too. After that, we packed up camp (led by our LODs Henry and Yardley) and headed two hours west to explore Zion National Park. Caroline filled the car with stories from her lacrosse career and summers in Nantucket. The word awesome doesn’t do the drive into the park justice. Massive silver cliffs walled in every side of the road, and the phrase “coolest drive ever” came up more than once. We set up camp and swam in the Virgin river the rest of the toasty afternoon. Layne Elizabeth made everyone laugh when making hamburgers for everyone for dinner, and shortly after was crowned leader of the day with Joe before we head into the Narrows tomorrow!
The adventures are only beginning, and we’re so excited for the laughs to come! Couldn’t ask for a better group and we look forward to sending our next update!
Signing off, Spencer and Sydney
Shoutouts!
Carter- hi mom and dad! I’m having fun!
Jasper- Happy birthday mother!
Elias- Hi mom and dad! Wish you could see these national parks!
Reed- Hey mom and dad! I miss y’all! I’m having a great time!
Joe- Hey mom and dad! I miss y’all and watch out for the broken glass in the basement! Also I’m having fun!
Henry- Hi mom and dad! I miss y’all!
Yardley- Hey mom and dad! Miss y’all and I’m having so much fun!
Caroline- Hi mom and dad! I miss you and I’m having fun!
Kk- Hi mom and dad! Miss y’all and I’m having so much fun!
Natalie – Hi mom and dad! I miss you so much and I’m having a great time!
Layne Elizabeth- Hi mom and dad! I miss y’all but I’m having so much fun!
Safe Arrival!
June 8, 2025
Hello Canyonlands Families!
We heard from our leaders that the group has landed safely in Salt Lake City! The trip is off to a great start, and we cannot wait to hear more stories from their adventure! Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next week! This will allow you to follow along with the trip. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ
